The foreign ministers of Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries held an extensive round of talks on Monday in Moscow, within the framework of the strategic dialogue between the two sides.
In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Minister Sergei Lavrov focused, at the opening of the session, on the importance that his country attaches to developing dialogue and strengthening cooperation in all fields with the GCC.
Russian sources stressed that the parties have reached a joint statement that reflects the level of understanding and convergence of views on regional and international issues
The ministerial level meeting is the sixth of its kind to enhance the strategic dialogue between Russia and the GCC countries. Discussions focused mainly on the situation in Ukraine and grain supplies from Ukraine and Russia.
GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohammad Al-Budaiwi announced at the outset of the talks that the meeting aims to strengthen relations between the Arab Gulf states and Russia, as it “covers many international issues of regional cooperation.”
He added that the GCC countries were interested in extending the grain deal, in an effort to alleviate the food crisis.
“The GCC countries are interested and striving to extend the grain deal for the supply of Russian and Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, which will lead to mitigating the humanitarian consequences of the crisis and responding to food challenges,” he said.
For his part, Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi stressed that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through a dialogue based on international law, taking into account the views of all sides.
“We believe in the necessity of a peaceful solution to this conflict, and we reaffirm the importance of a solution through dialogue on the basis of international law, taking into account the interests of all parties,” he told the meeting.
Russian sources did not rule out that the GCC countries would show interest in playing a mediation role to advance a political solution, based on the success of previous efforts made by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, which resulted in a prisoner exchange and alleviated some aspects of the acute humanitarian crisis.
In a press conference held at the end of the meeting, Lavrov said that Russia and the GCC countries have made great progress in revitalizing cooperation. He noted that trade exchange between the two sides have reached $11 billion, despite the geopolitical difficulties.
He also welcomed the rapprochement in Saudi-Iranian relations, and the desire of the two parties to promote a “positive atmosphere in the region.”
